Common Admission Test (CAT) for the IIMs is one of the most sought after tests in the country for MBA education and must be taken seriously by the students. Admission to the coveted IIMs is based on a number of factors like the score in CAT, group discussion (GD), personal interview (PI) and CAT counselling.
CAT counselling usually takes place a few months after the CAT test itself. For CAT 2019, the counselling will take place in February 2020. Counselling is an important part of the entire process of admission; there should be ample preparation for the same. Students desirous of getting admission into IIMs in 2020 must pay a lot of attention to CAT counselling. Although it is an integral part of the admission process, the irony is that there is no fixed format for counselling, and there is no straight-jacket preparation process. However, if a student gets the following points right, he or she should do well in CAT 2019 counselling:
1 Brush up General Knowledge: A student who is able to get admission into the IIMS is no ordinary person. He or she should have excellent general knowledge, among other things. The better the general knowledge of the student, the better he or she is likely to do in CAT 2019 counselling. The people conducting the counselling can ask even far-fetched questions of what the capital of each of the disintegrated states of erstwhile USSR is. So it is best to brush up general knowledge as much as possible. Good general knowledge would stand the students in good stead not just in CAT 2019 counselling but also in GD and PI. Since the IIMs believe in making students a ‘generalist’ rather than a ‘specialist’, it is good to brush up a general knowledge of just about anything.
2 Be Positive In Every Aspect: Positivity is one thing that the people in charge of the admission to IIMs make sure among aspirants. If a student is not optimistic, he or she has little chance of getting into any good MBA college. Positivity should reflect in every aspect of the aspirant, by its manner of talking or way of dressing. The people in-charge will test the student’s positivity in many ways, and if a student is found wanting in this respect, then he or she is not selected. They may throw questions of imaginary situations to the aspirant and ask them what they would do in such a case. It is essential to think as what would constitute positive behavior in those situations and then answer accordingly. In other words, it is necessary to be optimistic at all times and answer every question with confidence for success in CAT 2019 counselling.
3 Have A Sense of Purpose For Taking Admission In IIMs: It is important to have a reason for the aspirant as why he or she wants to pursue MBA education and, more importantly, as to why he or she should be given admission in the IIMs. When asked as to why they want to take admission in IIMs, the students must be able to come up with a convincing answer. Just saying that the placements are good and a job is guaranteed will not get the student admission in the IIMs. There can be so many proper answers for the questions, and the students must be able to answer this question convincingly for success in CAT 2019 counselling.
4 Be Clear About Interests & Skill-sets: MBA aspirants should be very clear as to where their interests lie and what would be their chosen stream of specialization-Finance, Human Resources, Operations or others. They can be asked in their CAT Counselling as what will be their specialization, and they should have a clear answer to that. Whether Finance or Human Resources, the student must be sure as to where his or her interests lie and must give proper reasoning in choosing the stream of specialization. Any dithering during CAT 2019 counselling as far as specialization is concerned would act as a deterrent in admission. A lot also depends on the skill-sets of the aspirants; for example, commerce graduates can choose finance as specialization easily as they have some understanding of finance and economics theories. However, it is not compulsory to have commerce during graduation for anyone to choose finance as specialization. Whatever it is, there must be proper reasoning to choose a particular specialization.
Check all details of CAT exam like dates, application form, eligibility, and syllabus, admit card, results, pattern, preparation tips, question papers, and more at https://www.shiksha.com/mba/cat-exam
